Suspected Russian agent Maria Butina appears close to cutting a deal with the Justice Department based on what her lawyers and DOJ prosecutors told a judge Thursday.
CNN:
In a conference call with a federal judge in Washington, the attorneys said another upcoming hearing in the case should be canceled and that subpoenas planned for American University, where Butina was a graduate student, may be withdrawn by the end of this week.
Both prosecutors and defense attorneys have previously indicated they were negotiating to end Butina's case.
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She is currently being held in solitary confinement at a Northern Virginia jail, her attorneys have said. So far, she has maintained her innocence, saying she was never a foreign agent and simply a foreign student studying in America.
If Butina were to change her plea in the case from not guilty to guilty, she would likely return to Russia.
Prosecutors previously told a court she was in touch with Russian backers and agents as she ingratiated herself with politically powerful Americans.